Game 10: Xavier (Ohio) 12/11 8:30 FS1
XU is 7-1 with a home game versus Ball State on Wednesday
Recent games for X: 12 point loss to Iowa State (neutral), 1 point win with a depleted roster versus Virginia Tech (neutral), 33-point win versus Central Michigan, and a six-point road win Sunday at Oklahoma State
X should be full strength, as injured forward Zach Freemantle is back and just played 19 mins on Sunday in his second game.
Top performers to date:
- Nate Johnson, 6'4 G (5th) - 14.6 points (24/50 from three), 3.5 rebounds
- Colby Jones, 6'6 G (So.) - 12.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists
- Paul Scruggs, 6'5 G (5th) - 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists
- Jack Nunge, 7'0 F (Sr. via Iowa) - 11.3 points, 6.9 rebounds
* Nunge is my pick for random Xavier guy to hit a bunch of threes. Very good player, but career 29% from deep. Also Adam Kunkel was a 39% shooter his sophomore year at Belmont, struggled last year (believe he was banged up and/or asked to play a bigger role than he should have) and is up to 37.8% this year.
*Not sure that Freemantle is 100% but I am sure he will be more than capable.
* X is definitely taller/longer than UC on the perimeter with David DeJulius and Mike Saunders
* Freemantle, Scruggs, and little-used former 4-star recruit KyKy Tandy (seems like Cronin wisely backed off here) are the three XU players to play in the last Crosstown Shootout with fans. Of course, as the home team, it probably means more for Jeremiah Davenport and Mika Adams-Woods to be able to share the experience of playing at Cintas.
* I think Xavier is the clear favorite here and it seems like UC has really been struggling of late. One thing is for sure though -- for as much as Cronin seemed to not be ready for these games, there is no doubt in my mind that Wes Miller will be locked in. He knows what an intense rivalry is all about. So hopefully he can get these guys rested and focused.
* As always, especially at X, one key is not digging themselves into an early hole
* #WinForHerb